Overview

WiQuest’s Wireless USB Device Embedded Card Reference Design is the only embedded card solution for devices on the market today based on Certified Wireless USB from the USB-IF.

It provides an efficient means of upgrading a wired USB device to incorporate wireless USB 2.0 high-speed connectivity by using the PCIe mini card form factor. Since communication is handled through USB, it does not require an additional PCI Express lane for communication. The end result is a more efficient design.

A complete, Wireless USB solution is possible using the same silicon.  Utilizing the same hardware and software baseline means that the WQST110/101 can be used for both ends of the solution (host and device). WiQuest provides the total solution.

The reference design is shipped as a complete, hardware and software package. The hardware package includes schematics, layout source files, a detailed bill-of-material, design manual, user’s guide, and a quick-start guide. The software package includes a Host Wired Adapter (HWA) and Device Wired Adapter (DWA) driver/firmware; also included is a Windows utility which supports auto-discovery, multiple association options, and field upgrade functionality.

The Wireless USB Device Embedded Card is designed around WiQuest’s WQST110 and WQST101 silicon.  The WQST110 device includes a full ultrawideband (UWB) media access controller (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) baseband processor. It also includes a fully-integrated USB 2.0 sub-system. The WQST101 device is a direct conversion UWB RF transceiver.  These two devices and related components easily fit into a standard mini card form factor.

The Wireless USB Device Embedded Card enables manufacturers to build more than just a standard Device Wired Adapter (DWA). When coupled with WiQuest’s Host Wired Adapter interface, the hardware and software provides a complete, highly-integrated, end-to-end solution.

WiQuest’s Wireless USB Device Embedded Card supports all standard WiMedia data rates from 53 Mbps to 480 Mbps.  In addition, WiQuest has extended the WiMedia standard to include 1 Gbps data rate. WiQuest's advanced Forward Error Correction (FEC) techniques allow higher data rates, improves the performance of the lower data rates, and enables a more robust overall solution.

Reference Design Highlights
Contains a complete design implementation

• WiQuest high-speed UWB
• Printed circuit board
• Passive components
• External UWB antenna
• Firmware, Drivers and utilities
• Manufacturing diagnostics


Includes supporting documentation

• Schematics
• Detailed layout
• Bill of material
• User's guide
• Quick start setup

System Features

UWB Wireless System

• Uses WiQuest's high performance UWB technology
• WiMedia-standard PHY and MAC
• Supports UWB data rates from 53 Mbps to 480 Mbps
• Supports WiQuest extended data rates from 558 - 1,037 Mbps
• Includes built-in encryption engine
• No external memory required

USB Interface

• USB 2.0 HS
• 480 Mbps high-speed mode
• 12 Mbps full-speed mode

Software Support

• Wireless USB
• Device wired adapter (DWA)
• WiQuest Control Center (WiCC)
• Customer-configurable details
• Device auto-discovery support
• Initial setup wizard
• Multiple device connect options
• Automatic, pop-up, manual
• Field upgradeable

Diagnostics

• Interface routines for standard I/O
• Calibration and compliance testing
• Functional system tests
• System rate, range, and throughput performance

Board Specifications

• Single-sided components PCB
• Size: PCIe mini card form factor
  • 30 mm x 50.95 mm
• Lower cost BOM through integration
• Standard U.FL type antenna connector
• Key components include antenna, EEPROM, oscillator, and power regulator
• 3.3V +/- 5% input

Design Kit Contents

• Complete PCB and assembly
• Test Fixture
• Schematics
• Layout details
• Bill of materials
• Documentation
• Characterization, and certification results

Wireless USB Device Embedded Card Block Diagram